He might be a tad plump, but Mario’s latest adventure is one heavenly body.

Score: 5 out of 5

Pros:

• Fantastic, gravity-defying gameplay
• Quality delivery
• Wild level design

Cons:

• A bit disjointed
• How about some voices?

You have to feel sorry for Princess Peach. Not because she keeps getting kidnapped, but because her boyfriend is a workaholic. When he isn’t playing soccer, baseball or golf, Mario is busy throwing parties, racing karts or impersonating a doctor. Apparently, spending “quality time” with your significant other isn’t a big priority in the Mushroom Kingdom.

But when push comes to shove, Mario knows on which side his bread his buttered. Eschewing those darn mini-games (yay!) in favor of good old-fashioned platforming, the mustachioed mascot returns to his roots in Super Mario Galaxy, squashing Goombas, hurling turtle shells and battling gravity itself in an ingenious, intergalactic quest to once again save his lady love from the clutches of arch-nemesis Bowser. And it’s his best effort in a decade.

It’s also his biggest. Super Mario Galaxy emulates the core gameplay system of the venerable Super Mario 64 by requiring Mario to collect up to 120 power stars, but the manner in which he does so is refreshingly new: he has to explore the entire universe.

Why? Because once again stupid Peach got caught in the middle of one of Bowser’s Machiavellian schemes, this one involving the creation of a new galaxy. The dino-baddie has learned a few new tricks, the coolest of which is how to steal Peach’s entire castle and beam it into the center of the universe with the unlucky royal pain still inside. In the ruckus, Mario passes out, only to awaken on a strange building floating around in space. The home of an enigmatic queen, this cosmic observatory is Mario’s launching pad as he scours galaxies in search of stars, and ostensibly, his missing girl.

But while the story is typical Nintendo storybook hooey, the gameplay is at once sophisticated and accessible. Each of the dozens of galaxies toys with gravity, often letting you step off what would normally be a deadly ledge only to stick to the ground and pop out on the other side, upside-down. You’ll run circles around planetoids, even leaping through space from rock to rock as you move from one gravitational pull to another. The effect is thrilling and pervades every inch of Galaxy. You’ll rarely be certain which way is up.

Somehow, that’s never a problem - credit excellent controls and a fantastic camera for pulling off such a feat. Using both the nunchuk and the remote, you’ll jump, squash and twirl through the game without skipping a beat. The remote also acts as a cursor, allowing you to collect the game’s ubiquitous star bits with a wave of your hand. Where many platformers make item collection a chore, Galaxy makes it as easy as pointing at the television.

And if you’re so inclined, you can let a buddy handle that job for you. Super Mario Galaxy’s co-op mode gives Player 2 a cursor as well, so they can scoop up star bits, freeze enemies or help Mario jump a bit higher while you focus on the task at hand. It’s a far cry from true co-op play (long live original Mario Bros.), but should at least satiate your annoying roommate’s urge to steal the controller.

The celestial backdrop wasn’t lost on the developers, who went above and beyond when it came to level design. Galaxy contains a wealth of mind-bending, brilliant levels spanning just about every type of landscape imaginable. The creativity is off the charts - in addition to classic fire and ice worlds, you’ll explore giant toy boxes, hulking dreadnaughts, underwater caves, haunted houses, space junkyards, desert wastelands and other weird, whimsical planets in all shapes and sizes. And you won’t always be stuck in the red and blue suit. Mario will turn into a bee, morph into a spring, transform into ice and even shape-shift into a Boo along the way.

Such wonderful variety keeps the game engaging, though it also makes it feel a little disjointed from time to time. One minute you’re riding a giant floating flower through an idyllic garden, the next you’re dodging electro-magnetic pulses while infiltrating a space battleship. Hope you’re feeling bipolar.

But unlike manic depression, the game is paced perfectly. Super Mario Galaxy is filled with all kinds of secrets and unlockables, enticing you with the proverbial carrot while doling out a constant stream of encouraging praise. The game’s inherent non-linearity gives the impression that there’s always something out there to do, and truth be told, you don’t have to bolt through each galaxy just to amass enough stars to reach the princess. The gameplay is so enjoyable, you probably won’t want to, anyway.

It’s amazing what Nintendo can get out of their supposedly underpowered console, because Super Mario Galaxy looks and sounds great. Bright, cheery and smooth, the graphics shine where they ought to and upscale well; despite lack of true HD support, you can play this on a fancy set and not feel gypped. The audio is equally charming. Rousing scores join fun, remixed classics, though it’s a little hard to swallow the oddly sporadic voice-acting. Text is fine, but it would be nice to hear Mario say something other than ‘Woo-hoo!’ from time to time.

Ultimately, those are very small potatoes in a very big stew. Super Mario Galaxy is a reminder that games don’t have to be ultra-violent, make clever social statements or ride the marketing machine to succeed. They simply have to be fun, and you’d be hard pressed to find one as genuinely enjoyable as Mario’s latest. If you own a Wii, you should own this, too.

After failing to complete a wild comeback against the Chargers Sunday night, the Colts have dropped from the No. 2 spot on one side of the rankings. Indy had been positioned in the second slot in both writers’ rankings behind the Patriots, who are still No. 1, since Week 2.

The weekend of surprising outcomes resulted in several teams taking tremendous leaps and falls this week. Jason Cole moved both the Bucs and Seahawks up five slots into the “Top 12,” while dropping the Ravens 11 spots back after their loss to the Bengals. Charles Robinson’s rankings reflect a lot more consistency with last week’s – the top six teams remain the same –. though the Jaguars and Saints each moved five spots after their surprising results. Perhaps most notable though is that each writer has seven teams with losing records in his “Muddled Middle.”

Here are the complete rankings following Week 10 action.

TOP 12
Cole rankings 
1. LW (1) New England Patriots (9-0)
2. LW (3) Dallas Cowboys (8-1) 
3. LW (4) Green Bay Packers (8-1) 
4. LW (2) Indianapolis Colts (7-2) 
5. LW (7) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) 
6. LW (8) Cleveland Browns (5-4) 
7. LW (13) Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3)
8. LW (5) Tennessee Titans (6-3) 
9. LW (14) San Diego Chargers (5-4) 
10. LW (6) New York Giants (6-3) 
11. LW (16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-4) 
12. LW (17) Seattle Seahawks (5-4) 
 Robinson rankings 
1. LW (1) New England Patriots
2. LW (2) Indianapolis Colts
3.  LW (3) Green Bay Packers 
4. LW (4) Dallas Cowboys 
5. LW (5) Pittsburgh Steelers 
6. LW (6) New York Giants 
7. LW (12) Jacksonville Jaguars 
8. LW (7) Tennessee Titans 
9. LW (8) Cleveland Browns 
10. LW (13) San Diego Chargers 
11. LW (9) Washington Redskins 
12. LW (10) Detroit Lions 
 
 
Cole: To all the readers who ripped me for having the Ravens in the Top 12 last week despite their embarrassing loss to Pittsburgh, it was a major faux pas – plain and simple. Other than that, I apologize for nothing, not even to you Lions fans who think I’m dissing your squad. To be frank, I like the Lions this season, but I still don’t take them completely seriously. The loss to Arizona was proof of why I don’t quite buy what’s happening yet. … Indianapolis dropped a couple of pegs after the first-ever Adam Vinatieri meltdown. The loss to San Diego isn’t so troubling as the Chargers have always hung tough with the Colts. The problem is the mounting injuries which have left Peyton Manning with a receiving corps little better than what he had his final season at the University of Tennessee. That doesn’t even account for the foot injury to Dwight Freeney, whose loss could be devastating to the defense. Robinson: It’s that kind of year for the Patriots. Sitting on the bye, they watched themselves get a stronger foothold as the Colts’ health issues got worse. For Indianapolis, nothing is more important than the status of Dwight Freeney’s foot. … Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders might be one of the most underrated assistant coaches in the NFL. … While Mike McCarthy and Rod Marinelli are getting plenty of love for coach of the year, has anyone handled a volatile player better than Wade Phillips has handled Terrell Owens? … Romeo Crennel’s timeout prior to Cleveland’s fourth-quarter challenge on Sunday might have been the worst in-game coaching maneuver of the season. But with the way the playoff race is shaping up, he might get a chance to redeem himself against the Steelers in the first round of the AFC playoffs. … San Diego’s blitz pressure against Indianapolis looked like a page from last year’s playbook.
MUDDLED MIDDLE
Cole rankings 
13. LW (21) Buffalo Bills (5-4) 
14. LW (11) Detroit Lions (6-3) 
15.  LW (12) Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) 
16. LW (15) Washington Redskins (5-4) 
17. LW (10) New Orleans Saints (4-5) 
18. LW (18) Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) 
19. LW (20) Chicago Bears (4-5) 
20. LW (9) Baltimore Ravens (4-5) 
21. LW (19) Carolina Panthers (4-5) 
22. LW (22) Minnesota Vikings (3-6) 
 Robinson rankings 
13. LW (16) Buffalo Bills 
14. LW (17) Seattle Seahawks 
15.  LW (15) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
16. LW (11) New Orleans Saints 
17. LW (14) Baltimore Ravens 
18. LW (19) Denver Broncos 
19. LW (21) Arizona Cardinals 
20. LW (18) Kansas City Chiefs 
21. LW (22) Chicago Bears 
22. LW (20) Carolina Panthers 
 
 
Cole: Buffalo doesn’t get any style points for the win over Miami, but the Bills get some credit for playing very smart in the second half. In short, they showed that they know how to win in less-than-ideal circumstances. Now, if quarterback J.P. Losman can bottle that knowledge, he might actually keep his job for the long term rather than allowing Trent Edwards to push him aside. Will that happen? Doubtful. Losman is self-destructively arrogant. – New Orleans should be better than it is and Kansas City should be worse. For both teams, the answer is all about mindset and focus. Robinson: The second-longest winning streak in the NFL behind the Patriots? It’s Buffalo’s four straight victories. But this week’s game against New England will tell us whether the Bills are a legit playoff contender, or nothing more than a team that has scrapped out five wins against opponents that have a combined winning percentage of .200. … If fans didn’t understand the balance a healthy Deuce McAllister brought to the New Orleans backfield before, they should understand it now. Reggie Bush is averaging a combined 4.3 yards per touch rushing and receiving. He’s a poor man’s Eric Metcalf. … Steve McNair is a turnover waiting to happen. Kyle Boller may not be a better alternative at this point, but at least he’s something different. … So Rex Grossman led the Bears to a comeback win. Bank on it: He’ll be on the outs again by the first week in December. 
BOTTOM OF THE PACK
Cole rankings 
23. LW (27) Denver Broncos (4-5) 
24. LW (28) Philadelphia Eagles (4-5) 
25. LW (29) Arizona Cardinals (4-5) 
26. LW (23) Houston Texans (4-5) 
27. LW (25) Atlanta Falcons (3-6) 
28. LW (26) San Francisco 49ers (2-7) 
29. LW (32) St. Louis Rams (1-8) 
30. LW (24) Oakland Raiders (2-7) 
31. LW (30) New York Jets (1-8) 
32. LW (31) Miami Dolphins (0-9) 
 Robinson rankings 
23. LW (24) Philadelphia Eagles 
24. LW (23) Houston Texans 
25. LW (27) Cincinnati Bengals 
26. LW (26) Atlanta Falcons 
27. LW (25) Minnesota Vikings 
28. LW (28) San Francisco 49ers 
29. LW (29) Oakland Raiders 
30. LW (31) St. Louis Rams 
31. LW (30) New York Jets 
32. LW (32) Miami Dolphins 
 
 
Cole: Congrats to good-guy coach Scott Linehan for getting his first win and for getting his offense to play with some consistency. The Rams offensive line is still a mess because of injuries, but if Linehan can hang in there and keep line coach Paul Boudreau, things figure to get better for the rest of the season and the situation could be fixed long term. … Miami takes over the bottom spot from the Rams with another awful loss. Coach Cam Cameron is a nice man, but he’s kind of a knucklehead in the mode of Dave Wannstedt. Here’s a clue: He keeps starting quarterback Cleo Lemon when it’s obvious Lemon is just a guy and the future of the franchise lies in whether rookie John Beck is any good. If not, the Dolphins need to draft another quarterback in the offseason and owner Wayne Huizenga desperately wants to know the answer. Robinson: Andre Johnson’s return is too little too late. With Jacksonville, Tennessee and Cleveland battling for the AFC’s two wild-card spots, the Texans are already playing for 2008. … If you watched Cincinnati topple Baltimore Sunday, you saw why the Bengals have bent over backwards dealing with Chris Henry’s off-field issues. He’s the X-factor that offense has lacked all season. … No matter how badly Brad Childress needs him, Adrian Peterson’s knee injury is going to be handled with an overabundance of caution. Why? Because owner Zygi Wilf wants it that way. … The key to the NFC West? It’s the Rams, who are going to play the spoiler with their healthy skill position players and a coach who is making the closing argument to keep his job. 

It’s been a pretty monumental year for band reunions so far: The Police, the Sex Pistols, Crowded House, Rage Against The Machine, Van Halen, the Verve, the Jesus & Mary Chain, and of course Led Zeppelin are only a few of the long-gone acts who buried the hatchet this year. But perhaps one of the most hyped and anticipated reunions of 2007 has been the return of the Spice Girls.Some people probably thought there was no demand for Posh, Ginger, Scary, Sporty, and Baby these days. They might have assumed that the Spicy circa-’96 message of “Girl Power!” no longer rang true. These people probably laughed at the idea of the Spice Girls embarking on an international arena tour. But clearly the Spice Girls are having the last laugh now–and they’re laughing all the way to the bank, as tickets to their reunion concerts have sold out in a matter of minutes. Apparently what pop fans want, what they really really want, is to see the Spice Girls one more time.

So now the Spice Girls are back to spice up our lives, and they’re bigger and better than ever. They’re looking hotter than they did in their heyday (one look at their slick, lingerie-draped “Headlines” video indicates the ladies have much better access to stylists and personal trainers now); Melanie Brown has gracefully recovered from that Eddie Murphy babydaddy scandal and is now a frontrunner on Dancing With The Stars; Emma Bunton is raking in residuals from her spaghetti sauce commercials; and the highest-profile Spice of all, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, is a bona fide fashion icon currently conquering her new home city of Hollywood.

With the Spice Girls’ tour less than three weeks away, Victoria recently took time out of her grueling rehearsal schedule to talk with Y! Music managing editor Lyndsey Parker about her new life in L.A., her family, those ubiquitous band infighting rumors, and the Spices’ upcoming show of shows. Read on for a little Posh talk…

YAHOO! MUSIC: So how are you enjoying Los Angeles so far?

VICTORIA: I love it. I’ve got to say, this year’s probably the happiest we’ve ever been as a family. People say to me, “God, it must be really hard to transition,” and I’m like, “What’s hard? The sun’s great, we live in Beverly Hills…let’s be realistic, how hard can that be?” We absolutely love it.

YAHOO! MUSIC: You’ve had no difficulty adjusting?

VICTORIA: Actually, not at all. I did a lot of groundwork, though: I came over, I searched for a house, I bought a house, I enrolled my children in an incredible school. It took a long time of going backwards and forwards to find everything I needed to find because I hadn’t been here that much, but it’s the most wonderful place. We definitely see ourselves staying here much longer than we initially planned, because we’re very, very happy. It’s great. We have a lot more privacy here; we go out and do our things. The kids love it; they have a nice circle of friends. We can both work here. It’s actually incredible. We’re very, very happy.

YAHOO! MUSIC: But you’ll be gone from L.A. for a while, huh, when you go on tour?

VICTORIA: I’m going to be away for half of December and the whole of January, in London, and then we come back to America for February. I’m really only going to be gone from L.A. a month and a half. But I’ll definitely, definitely miss it, because I feel much freer here in L.A. I’m much calmer. This is the perfect place for me!

YAHOO! MUSIC: Not everyone likes L.A. You either love it or hate it, I guess…

VICTORIA: Well, obviously I love England–that’s where I’m from. Fashion-wise, I find London very inspiring. It’s lovely to go back and visit. But I’m used to traveling and being away from home, and I think L.A. is a great place. The people are very nice. I haven’t been here that long, so hopefully it’s not going to change! But we all love it. The kids are so happy.

YAHOO! MUSIC: OK, so about this tour…why now? The Spice Girls reunion has been rumored for so long, and surely you’ve had many offers before…

VICTORIA: You know, for years we were rumored to be discussion, but we all know what the media’s like: When they haven’t got anything to write about, they just make up sh*t. Everyone else was talking about a reunion, but we weren’t! Geri [Halliwell] basically had a christening for [her daughter] Bluebell, and we were there, and it literally was just really natural. We all started laughing about the things we used to get up to, and how phenomenal our success was. And one thing led to another, and it just seemed like the right thing to do. As soon as we decided we got [19 Management’s] Simon Fuller involved, and he started planning things. I think we were all obviously nervous in our own little ways, but for me it was just the fact that I wanted my children to see Mommy was a pop star once! To see what Mommy used to do. That Mommy does more than just moan at the boys and say, “Do your homework!” and “Brush your teeth!” That was my motivation for doing it, and it’s not for long. The tour has been planned so that David [Beckham] can come on the tour and the kids can come on the tour, then at the end of February, David goes back for training and the boys will go back to school, and that will be it.

YAHOO! MUSIC: So there are no plans for a full reunion album? A permanent reunion?

VICTORIA: Well, there’s the greatest hits album, which is released exclusively through Victoria’s Secret. They’ve made a huge commitment, which is fantastic, and we’re performing at their show this Thursday [November 15]. There’s two new tracks on the album, “Voodoo” and “Headlines.” That will be it. This isn’t the Spice Girls getting back together to record loads of new material and do a new film. We’re not starting off our careers again; we’re literally celebrating the past, celebrating our huge success, saying thank you to our fans, showing our kids what we used to do, and finishing it off the way we should have finished it off.

YAHOO! MUSIC: It seems most bands who reunite these days try to justify the reunion with a whole album of new material, even though the fans at the reunion concerts really just want the old hits…

VICTORIA: But we’ve never done things the way everyone else does things. We do things the way that suits us and our families. At the end of the day, I’m already dreading it coming to an end, to be honest. I admit I was nervous at the beginning, because I’ve worked very hard to be accepted in the fashion industry, and I was nervous: Would they accept me if I turned into “Posh Spice” again? There’s been a lot of doors opened for me in the fashion industry because of what I’ve done with the Spice Girls, but then again there’s been a lot of doors that have been shut as well, because people do have preconceptions. It’s taken me many years to work through that, so I was very nervous how people would think about that. Because fashion, outside of my family, is my passion; I’m not in the music industry anymore. But the Spice Girls reunion has been accepted very well. But after February, the kids will go back to school, David will go back to training, and my family are everything to me. I couldn’t commit to doing any longer of a tour or any other stuff with the Girls, because it takes so much time. I’m having so much fun and I’m loving being back with the Girls and I’ve missed them so, so much–but I have a family now, so I just couldn’t commit to any more time.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Why did you decide to sell your album at Victoria’s Secret? With all the changes going on in the music industry right now, it seems like a smart business move.

VICTORIA: Simon Fuller is very clever businessman. It was his idea, and we all think Victoria’s Secret is great, the perfect place for us to sell our record. We’re five women who love Victoria’s Secret, and they made a huge, huge, huge commitment, they’re a very nice company. It was Simon’s idea, and we all think it’s a great idea. He’s a genius when it comes to coming up with different ways of doing things. We don’t play by the rules, we do things are different way, you know.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Are you surprised by how rabidly this reunion has been received? People are going nuts!

VICTORIA: It’s great. We have the most incredible, committed fans. They’ve stuck with us for the last 10 years. I think it’s proof that no matter what anybody says, no matter what anybody writes, it really doesn’t matter. The fans are what matter. And people WANT the Spice Girls. The press can write whatever the bloody hell they like–PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THE SPICE GIRLS! It’s been absolutely phenomenal. We didn’t know what to expect. We weren’t worried about it, but we didn’t know if anyone was going to want to come see us after all these years. And it’s just been fantastic. Very exciting for us.

YAHOO! MUSIC: What can fans expect to see on your tour?

VICTORIA: The show is just going to be incredible. We have the best people working on this show. We have Jamie King directing it and heading up all the choreography. We have Roberto Cavalli designing all the tour clothes. We have 10 of the best dancers in the world that myself and Melanie B auditioned out here in L.A. The show is going to be one of the best shows people will ever see! The attention to detail is great, and we’re going full-out to put on a fantastic show for our fans.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Are you nervous to be back onstage again?

VICTORIA: You know what? I’m not nervous at all, because I’ve got the other girls. If I was going to do it on my own, I’d be really nervous. But we’re just going out there to have fun! I’ll be happier once we’ve done a few shows and I know I have the choreography under my belt, because we have had so much to learn. We’ve got a month to rehearse all the songs, all new choreography. So there’s a lot to do. But I’m not nervous. You know, we’re not perfect–so what if someone does a dance move wrong? We’re trying very hard, but we’re the Spice Girls and we just get up there and have fun. And that’s what people want to see.

YAHOO! MUSIC: How are band relations now, after all those infighting rumors over the years?

VICTORIA: Like I said, people write stuff about us all the time. We get on really, really well. Everyone is so much more mature. We’ve all got kids except for Melanie C, and it’s great–my kids come to rehearsal after school and they hang out and they sing with us. All of our kids are getting on really well. We’re just so much more mature now. We used to argue, but there hasn’t actually, as yet, been any arguments this time. We’ve all got a lot of work to do, we all have to knuckle down and get into it, and our priorities have changed. Everything changes once you have a family. I’ve personally really, really missed not being in the group. Not because I missed singing and dancing, even though that is fun. I don’t miss the industry. But what I have missed is having four really good friends that have got my back. And I didn’t realize until I got back with the girls how much I missed that. Personally, we’ve all been through so much and had to deal with it on our own, and when you get back and you’ve got four people…well, it’s like unconditional love, to be honest. Whatever you do, whatever you say, they’ve got your back and they care about you. I am loving every minute of it because of that–because I didn’t have that in the years that I wasn’t in the group.

YAHOO! MUSIC: Is it true that Melanie C was the one holdout, the one Spice Girl who didn’t want to participate in the reunion?

VICTORIA: No, I think we all had our concerns. I was really concerned, like I said. I’m not in the music industry anymore, I’m in fashion, and I was nervous because I’ve worked very hard and had a huge amount of success with my DVB brand. I was worried that I might be jeopardizing that in any way. We were all nervous in our own little ways, but obviously it’s a better story to put one girl aside and say she’s the one that is having problems. People are so crazy and need Spice Girls stories all the time, that when they don’t have them they just make them up! But that’s cool, we accept that. We’ve been doing this a long time.

YAHOO! MUSIC: When the Spice Girls first came out, they were all about “Girl Power!” Do you think that positive message is missing from female pop stars’ music today?

VICTORIA: That’s an interesting point, because I think the whole industry has changed. For instance, I used to think fashion and music went hand-in-hand, and now I totally don’t think they do. I think there are very few music artists that have any influence on fashion at all nowadays. But I think you’re right about the “Girl Power” thing, and I think that’s why people liked the Spice Girls–because that’s what we stood for. And I think that’s what people continue to like about us.

VICTORIA: Do you think that message will resonate with little girls today, who are too young to remember the Spice Girls from the first time around?

YAHOO! MUSIC: Yes, it’s been incredible. The people who want tickets aren’t just our fans who’ve grown up, but they’re their children, too. There are little kids running around saying they want to go to the Spice Girls show, and they weren’t even born when the Spice Girls were around before! But I think as five women that have children, all we’re doing is spreading a positive message out there. I think that we’re good role models and I think it’s positive for women to believe what we believe in, and I think the music industry is definitely in need of that when it comes to girl groups. There’s so many girl groups out there, and I’m not saying that we’re any better than them, but I do think we’re different. And I think the fact that people are going so crazy over our tickets is proof that people need that out there.